I hate to be the bearer of bad news, “Lannie” fans, but Vanessa’s (Arielle Kebbel) little car accident on the winter finale of 90210 was only the beginning of some serious problems for Liam (Matt Lanter) and Annie (Shenae Grimes). “My arrival stirs up more than just Liam’s emotions,” Arielle tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively. “He has to figure out what he wants for his future in all aspects of his life.”

But what could possibly keep Liam and Annie apart, especially after she came clean to him about that whole “escort” nonsense? Well, according to Arielle, our boy Liam might have a few things in common with his new hit-and-run buddy.

“As the season continues, Liam and Vanessa get closer and learn they have similar troubled pasts,” Arielle teases. “I think that brings them closer together. Instead of judging each other’s pasts, they see the good in one another and encourage change for the future.”

The audience doesn’t know much about Vanessa so far — besides that she’s a terrible driver — and, honestly, Arielle was enjoying keeping that secret.

“The fun thing about Vanessa is that there are good intentions behind her schemes,” Arielle says. “Enjoy the ride 90210 fans — you never know what she’s up to next!”

Arielle also agrees with my assumption that Vanessa could very much be described as a “female Liam.”

So how long should we expect Vanessa to stick around in Beverly Hills? All Arielle can say is that she’s “not going anywhere for a while.”